After leaving the ANBU base, Yako first headed to Yakushi Nonō's orphanage.
Seeing it was the same kind-hearted man who had donated before, Chenli quickly welcomed him in.
She even went out of her way to show him the orphanage's pitiful state—especially the bare kitchen.
Unfortunately, the man wore a mask, and she couldn't read his expression.
'If he takes pity on us, maybe he'll donate again…'
Inside the dining hall, a small blackboard displayed the daily meager menu.
Yako glanced at it—and sure enough, there was a hidden message from Yakushi Nonō.
The code indicated she was currently investigating.
Yako quietly left 50,000 ryō behind and departed.
For the next several days, besides completing internal surveillance tasks, he would secretly observe the orphanage's menu board from afar with a telescope.
Then, one day, a new message appeared.
The code read: "T and G have left the village—mission in the Land of Rivers."
That night, in the second half of the night, Yako summoned the stone panda, and passed the intel to Uzumaki Yūka.
He also included a warning in the scroll: the intel might not be accurate. Extreme caution was necessary.
Root regularly selected candidates from Yakushi Nonō's orphanage. Though she loathed Root and Danzo, it was hard to tell how much she truly trusted him.
Under the silver disc of the full moon…
Yako emerged from the underground training hall. Still no word from Yūka.
Did she find them or not…?
—
Beside a river in the Land of Rivers…
Uzumaki Yūka lifted the edge of her Kappa demon mask, sweat dripping from beneath it.
Beside her, Uzumaki Kaichō and Uzumaki Genchō wore Wrath Demon and Grief Demon masks respectively.
After their successful revenge against the Shimura and Sarutobi clans, the Uzumaki survivors in the rainforest had wept for days.
But the tide had turned.
The clan had chosen to rise again—and revenge was now their purpose.
Step one: establish the Uzumaki assassination division—the Oni Division.
Long ago, an ancestor of the Uzumaki had sealed the very Shinigami itself with a sealing jutsu of divine power.
Even the many evil spirits surrounding the Shinigami were sealed in turn.
From that day, the clan inherited a line of forbidden sealing techniques, rooted in death gods and demons.
Now, as survivors crawling back from hell, every Uzumaki bore a darkness in their hearts.
They were vengeful specters, biding their time.
While the rest of the clan honed their jutsu and searched for summoning beasts, Yūka, Kaichō, and Genchō—being the strongest—formed the Oni Division.
Yūka was tense. If T and G returned to Konoha, Fox's risk in delivering intel would be wasted.
Every act of vengeance they carried out relied on Fox risking his life. She had to treat every chance as sacred.
She glanced at the sky.
—
Above, two massive owls soared silently.
These giant owls were Yūka's new summoning beasts—each with a 3-meter wingspan and night vision far sharper than ordinary birds.
They could spot a rat from 2 kilometers away.
Night belonged to the owls.
The two glided swiftly across the skies of the Land of Rivers, scanning the canyon below.
Soon, they spotted two fast-moving figures cloaked in hoods.
One owl flew ahead, identified the masked faces of the pair, and let out a low-pitched "hoo"—a signal.
The other owl instantly veered off to alert Yūka.
—
Upon receiving the alert, Yūka excitedly summoned the stone panda.
Back in Konoha, Yako jolted awake from his bed in the dead of night.
Just hours ago, he had been worrying if Yūka would find them.
And now—a message.
Beside him, Kyōi was fast asleep. She never liked using blankets, and her curves rose and fell in the moonlight.
Yako gently draped a cover over her and vanished underground.
He summoned the stone panda, and was reverse-summoned through to the Land of Rivers.
There, he met the three masked Uzumaki operatives.
"You all look different in those demon masks," he remarked.
The clan had finally stabilized after the chaos of near-extinction. They now had power—and vengeance had begun.
'Thousands of dead… That kind of hatred doesn't just go away.'
"Fox, I found two Root shinobi. They're only a few dozen kilometers from the Fire Country border!"
Yako praised Yūka's owl contract—their biggest weakness had always been reconnaissance. He had Byakugan, but Yūka didn't.
Now with owl summons, her tracking was both stronger and stealthier.
"I'll handle it," Yako said.
Yūka clenched her fists. "But Fox, we want to do it ourselves! We formed the Oni Division for revenge!"
"I understand," Yako said gently, "but you can't leave any trace that points to you.
Only a lone assassin, operating in complete secrecy, can create confusion and erase the trail.
If you three show up, strange sensory or sealing techniques might trace it back."
The three watched as Fox disappeared into the river below.
—
In the river canyon…
T and G moved quickly. They had just met with Suna's informant and exchanged critical intel.
Root managed Konoha's spy network. Its agents were always busy—constantly meeting contacts in other villages.
Suddenly, a figure burst from the river ahead of them.
With a single hand sign, he released a jutsu:
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
T recognized it instantly—he'd grown up watching the Sarutobi use this jutsu.
Just one seal? The original required seven!
He immediately responded, forming a single seal of his own:
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Wind was weak to Fire—but it bought them a second.
Using the opening, G formed seals and activated Water Release.
Wind and Water—perfectly in sync—they created a spiraling elemental combo, reminiscent of Naruto and Yamato's Hurricane Vortex from the original series.
Yako, as White Ghost, couldn't use his Self-Cursed Binding Seal here.
That jutsu often caused spasms in victims—even after death—which might leave clues behind. Too risky.
So instead—
He formed a Shadow Clone seal.
Two clones emerged—one to his left, one to his right. Each formed a seal.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A mastered-level combination of Wind and Fire Release exploded across the canyon, engulfing everything.